Today’s consumers prefer video for their media consumption and engagement with brands. In fact, 91% of people say they want to see more online videos from brands in 2023, according to Wyzowl’s 2023 State of Video Marketing report. To keep up with consumers’ preference for video, more brands are leveraging video in their marketing strategies. In the same research, 91% of businesses said they use video as a marketing tool—more than ever before. And 92% of video marketers say that video gives them a positive return on investment.
If your ecommerce business is looking to boost brand visibility and achieve growth (and who isn’t?), then developing a video marketing strategy is essential. Beyond brand awareness, video content can help increase engagement, search engine optimization, and brand credibility—which can all have a positive impact on conversion rates.
Even though consumers and businesses alike are shifting to video, the fact remains that video marketing is inherently expensive. Many businesses, especially smaller ones with limited marketing budgets, don’t even consider video in their marketing strategy because they imagine a high-production video with a big price tag. But the good news is that you don’t always need expensively produced professional video campaigns or an enterprise budget to reap the rewards. For smaller merchants, effective video marketing is now more accessible than ever. With a smartphone, great lighting, and low-cost editing software, you can create videos that resonate with your audiences.
As the Growth Manager for the content studio at Pilothouse, a Buy with Prime agency partner, Jordan Chew sees first-hand the value of video marketing. “If a picture can say a thousand words, then video is like a novel,” he says. “It’s a story in itself, and it allows you to elevate any messaging that you’re trying to get across. Video also gives you so much more time to describe your product from an authentic perspective, share your story, and talk about value props. It can provide a much-needed branding play for companies.”
To tap into the potential of video marketing to reach your customers through the medium that they prefer, Jordan shares some best practices that can help an ecommerce business of any size or with any budget.
#1 Start simple with a video on your home page
On your ecommerce site, a great place for video is the section right below the fold or hero image, Jordan explains. “For example, let’s say your product is an application that needs to be opened up, it needs to be placed somewhere or installed correctly,” he says. “A video can show that process and very quickly clarify what the product is; this is the messaging that needs to get done on a website very fast—for the benefit of new shoppers getting introduced to your brand.”
The hero image, the primary image at the top of a landing page, is a great spot to showcase what your product is emotionally, while subsequent sections are great spots to go into greater detail with video. Says Jordan, “Sections below the hero should be describing why the customer needs the product in their life, how it’s used, why it’s used, where and when it’s used, and featuring customers who love it.”
The section right below the fold is perfect for moving images that help describe the product or the brand—and they don’t always have to be video. “Sometimes lightweight formats like stop motion or GIFs can have great play on a website because they don’t drag down your speed,” he points out.
This is also a perfect spot to talk about any mission behind your company, or how and why you make a product a certain way.
“Give people more details about your company and who you are, tell a story, and make it authentic,” says Jordan. “When the content is done right, it’s educational, it’s informative, and it’s engaging. You’re trying to capture your shoppers’ attention on the main landing page, and ideally they want to share these videos with their friends or on social media.”
- IN PRACTICE: Buy with Prime merchant ZUGU includes a classic, simple video directly below its hero image that shows its iPad case used by the everyday consumer.
#2 Boost conversions with demos on your product pages
High-quality product images can play a critical role in conversion, as we discussed in 10 best practices for conversion rate optimization. And in addition to high-quality product images, Jordan recommends adding a simple, short demo video to your product listings.
“It’s your way to talk to the shopper while they’re on your web page and clarify any questions that they might have,” he says. “Shoppers might not read all of the bullet points in the description, but they might watch a short video. So all of your details should also be in that video.”
In the Wyzowl survey, 96% of shoppers have watched a demo video to learn more about a product or service and 89% said watching a video has convinced them to buy a product or service. A product video can make a bigger impact on a buying decision when it highlights the best features of your product, is shareable and relatable, and conveys your brand’s voice and message in 30 seconds or fewer. Check out a few product video examples selected by BigCommerce for inspiration.
- IN PRACTICE: Buy with Prime merchant Wyze uses videos on its Wyze Cam v3 product page to demonstrate how the camera works and how to install it.
#3 Save money with DIY videos
With high-quality cameras on every smartphone, you can build an effective video marketing campaign with engaging videos on even a tight budget.
“Many brands tend to get too focused on the expensive, highly produced videos,” Jordan says. “Yes, beautiful branded content can show off the quality of your product, but not everything has to be at that level. There are many things that you can do.”
Authentic, professional-looking content doesn’t have to mean professional-grade equipment and a full production team. “That professional video can just be you sitting in front of your phone on a tripod with nice lighting,” he explains. “The effect of lighting is incredible, where you can show off your product without spending all the money.”
With so many DIY video editing solutions now available, there’s plenty you can do with a smartphone camera, even if you’re not video savvy. “If I wanted to show off a travel mug, for example, how great it fits into my hand, the ergonomics of the handle, and how easily the lid opens and closes, I can shoot a 15-second video in no time and upload it the same day,” Jordan explains.
If it still sounds daunting to you or you don’t have time, consider hiring a freelancer or design student to help.
- IN PRACTICE: Buy with Prime merchant Epic Water Filters created a simple DIY video for YouTube without extravagant video production (which it also embedded on its home page).
#4 Leverage user generated content
Another way to not only create videos on a budget, but also create content that’s relatable is to leverage user-generated content (UGC). According to the 2023 State of Social & User-Generated Content report, “Authentic UGC is the most trustworthy content” and can support all stages of the marketing funnel from awareness and consideration to conversion, loyalty, and advocacy. In fact, 53% of surveyed shoppers say that UGC—videos, images, and reviews from real, verified customers—gives them confidence to make a purchasing decision.
UGC can help your brand foster a community, nurture relationships with customers built on trust, boost conversions, and it also provides authentic content for your marketing efforts. (Authentic product reviews and ratings are also a powerful tool in this way.)
An easy way to get UGC for your products is to tap friends, family, and even customers. “People who love your product—reach out to them all,” Jordan says. “Start out by asking if they’re willing to contribute an honest video review, or consider offering a free product in return for a product testimonial or unboxing video. It’s the cheapest way for you to get good content, and then you can share it on your product pages and social media.”
If you currently offer Buy with Prime on your site, then you can use customer and order information to curate a list of customers to reach out to about certain products that you want UGC.
- IN PRACTICE: Buy with Prime merchant bareMinerals features a carousel of user-generated videos on its home page to give shoppers the social proof they seek.
#5 Boost engagement with short, relevant videos
On average, people watch 17 hours of online videos each week. That’s only 10% of their week, and there’s a lot of noise out there competing for consumers’ attention. So consider shorter, more engaging videos to capture their attention. According to the Vidyard Video in Business Benchmark Report, shorter videos are more likely to be watched—66% of viewers finish a video that’s under one minute long compared to only 39% finishing a video that’s 10–20 minutes long.
“Succinctness is an incredible thing,” Jordans says. “Be intentional with what you’re trying to get across. It doesn’t always have to be thoroughly planned out, but shorter than longer is key. Something that’s 15–30 seconds works well for TikTok, Instagram stories or Reels, or YouTube shorts.”
Save your longer-form content, where you might talk about your brand story or describe how your product is made, for YouTube or a specific section of your website. “Making the video relevant to what you’re addressing in that section is important,” he says. “So if it’s your home page or About page, don’t start talking about your warranty, for example. Keep it focused on your product or mission.”
And whatever the length, make sure your video is optimized for mobile with subtitles for those who watch without sound.
- IN PRACTICE: Check out the video we created to explain the benefits of Buy with Prime and how it works in only 56 seconds.
#6 Put your founder in front of the camera
One key piece of advice, Jordan notes, is how effective it can be to make the founder the subject of your video. Consider putting the founder of your company (maybe that’s you!) in front of the camera to talk about their brand or products.
“Nobody has passion quite like the founder does,” Jordan says. “If you happen to be the founder, you might think it’s silly at first, but you’ll get the hang of it. As a founder, this is your opportunity to have a conversation with your potential customers, and then see their engagement, if they were moved to leave comments or share the video.”
If your founder doesn’t feel comfortable sitting in the limelight, get them started with some probing questions that can help bring the founder’s passion to the surface and get the juices flowing. Consider questions like: What motivated you to create this product? What’s your startup story?
“I talk to founders all day long on calls and they all have great and inspiring stories, but not all of them want to talk about it on camera,” Jordan says. “But it’s worth it! Shoppers want to know why you created your product.” This is particularly true with the quality shopper and ethical shopper audiences. (Read more about the three different shopper archetypes.)
- IN PRACTICE: The founder of Buy with Prime merchant Bossy Cosmetics, Aishetu Fatima Dozie, steps in front of the camera to share the story of her business on its About Us page.
#7 Test out your content before you hire an agency
If you want more polished and professional videos, or a high volume of videos, then hiring an agency is the way to go. But if your budget doesn’t allow or you want to get the most out of a partnership with an agency, “I would highly encourage you to test video content on your platforms first,” Jordan says. “It’s so easy to do it yourself before you start paying anybody to do it. Build your own video content and collect your own data before you spend money on an agency. Try it unpaid, try it on your website, try it everywhere.”
Even if you end up going to an agency after testing, it’s good to collect your own insights so you’re not going into a consultation blind and can give the agency or studio a place to start.
“If you came to the team at Pilothouse with no data, we essentially have to spend your money to find that data,” Jordan admits. “You can find that data, or at least 60% of that data, for free simply by creating video and putting it out there.” And with data already in hand, agencies can then focus on what they do best: producing the content.
- IN PRACTICE: As a Buy with Prime merchant, you can use a free performance impact analysis to test how different videos perform on your site (after first A/B testing Buy with Prime on your site).
Video marketing is now an essential tool for ecommerce businesses and should be part of every marketing strategy. Although it might seem daunting, adding video marketing to your content mix doesn’t have to be a huge, costly undertaking and is worth the investment.
Learn more ways to engage shoppers with email marketing automation, Social Ads for Buy with Prime, and the Buy with Prime marketing toolkit.